US accuses American of allegedly wiping his phone using a ‘duress’ password during border search
US accuses American of allegedly wiping his phone using a ‘duress’ password during border search
美国指控一名美国公民在边境检查时使用“胁迫”密码清除手机数据
The U.S. Justice Department is prosecuting an American for allegedly providing U.S. border authorities with a passcode that wiped the contents of his phone, according to an indictment and media reports. This is thought to be the first known case in the United States where federal prosecutors have charged someone for the alleged destruction of data using a “duress” password built into a phone’s software. 根据起诉书和媒体报道，美国司法部正在起诉一名美国公民，指控其向美国边境当局提供了一个导致手机内容被清除的密码。据信，这是美国首例联邦检察官因使用手机内置软件中的“胁迫”密码销毁数据而对个人提起指控的案件。
According to The Guardian, which covered the story earlier this week following the court’s first hearing on Monday, Atlanta resident Samuel Tunick is fighting the charges. Tunick’s attorneys said that it was unlawful for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to seize his phone as he arrived back in the U.S. last year and that any evidence — including the alleged wiping of his phone — should be thrown out. 据本周早些时候报道此事的《卫报》称，在周一法院举行首次听证会后，亚特兰大居民塞缪尔·图尼克（Samuel Tunick）正在对这些指控进行抗辩。图尼克的律师表示，美国海关及边境保卫局在他去年返回美国时扣押其手机的行为是非法的，任何证据——包括所谓的手机数据清除行为——都应被排除。
The case centers on a feature included in GrapheneOS, a custom Android operating system that runs in place of the software on most modern Google Pixel devices. Tunick’s attorneys confirmed GrapheneOS was running on his phone. The software feature allows the device owner to set a passcode that deliberately wipes the contents of that device if entered instead of the user’s unlock passcode. 此案的核心在于 GrapheneOS 的一项功能，这是一种可替代大多数现代 Google Pixel 设备原装软件的定制安卓操作系统。图尼克的律师证实，他的手机运行的是 GrapheneOS。该软件功能允许设备所有者设置一个密码，如果输入该密码而非解锁密码，设备内容将被彻底清除。
Tunick’s case also raises ongoing questions about what constitutional rights can be invoked at the border, which the U.S. government has long asserted is not U.S. soil until a person is authorized to enter. The government’s indictment, which contains a typo (“Untied States Code”), accuses Tunick of allegedly providing a passcode to border agents that caused the phone to “delete the digital contents,” prior to the device being seized. 图尼克的案件也引发了关于在边境可以援引哪些宪法权利的持续争议。美国政府长期以来一直声称，在个人获得入境许可之前，边境地区不属于美国领土。政府的起诉书中出现了一个拼写错误（将“United States Code”写成了“Untied States Code”），指控图尼克在设备被扣押前向边境特工提供了导致手机“删除数字内容”的密码。
Tunick’s attorneys filed a motion to suppress the evidence, claiming that the detention and the seizure were unlawful. The motion said U.S. border authorities took Tunick into a secondary inspection at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport as he returned from overseas on January 24, 2025, but that he was repeatedly denied access to an attorney and was not informed of his legal rights. 图尼克的律师提交了一份证据排除动议，声称拘留和扣押行为是非法的。动议称，2025年1月24日，当图尼克从海外返回时，美国边境当局在亚特兰大哈茨菲尔德-杰克逊机场对他进行了二次检查，但他多次被拒绝联系律师，且未被告知其法律权利。
Tunick’s attorneys accused the government of demanding access to his phone under the pretext of searching for child exploitation imagery, but without providing evidence to justify its suspicion. His motion to suppress argued that the government was instead investigating him over his association with a long-running environmental movement called Defend the Atlanta Forest, which opposes the development of a sprawling training campus for law enforcement in Atlanta dubbed “Cop City.” 图尼克的律师指责政府以搜查儿童剥削影像为借口要求访问他的手机，却未能提供证据来证明其怀疑的合理性。他的排除证据动议辩称，政府实际上是因为他与一个名为“保卫亚特兰大森林”（Defend the Atlanta Forest）的长期环保运动有关联而对他进行调查，该运动反对在亚特兰大建设一个被称为“警察城”（Cop City）的大型执法训练园区。
The motion said that the border agents claimed they did not need a warrant to search Tunick’s phone because he had not yet crossed the U.S. border. The U.S. government has long claimed it can search and seize people’s devices without a search warrant or court order until they are permitted entry to the United States. 动议称，边境特工声称他们不需要搜查令即可搜查图尼克的手机，因为他尚未越过美国边境。美国政府长期以来一直声称，在允许个人进入美国之前，他们可以在没有搜查令或法院命令的情况下搜查和扣押人们的设备。
When Tunick provided his passcode and the authorities entered it, “the screen went blank, flashed several times and the phone appeared to restart.” The authorities seized his phone anyway, before telling him that he was free to go and could enter the United States. 当图尼克提供密码并由当局输入后，“屏幕变黑，闪烁了几次，手机似乎重启了。”当局随后仍扣押了他的手机，并告知他可以离开并进入美国。
Prosecutors later charged Tunick under a federal statute that makes it unlawful to knowingly destroy or damage property to prevent authorities from seizing it. Tunick has pleaded not guilty. Matthew Dodge, an assistant federal public defender on Tunick’s legal team, told TechCrunch that it was incredibly rare to see the federal statute used in an indictment. 检察官随后根据一项联邦法规对图尼克提起指控，该法规规定，为阻止当局扣押而故意销毁或损坏财产属于违法行为。图尼克已表示不认罪。图尼克法律团队的联邦公设辩护律师助理马修·道奇（Matthew Dodge）告诉 TechCrunch，在起诉书中看到这项联邦法规被引用是非常罕见的。
Security experts also said they had not seen charges brought in this way before. Bill Budington, a senior staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Runa Sandvik, a digital security expert who works to protect at-risk people as the founder of security consultancy firm Granitt, told TechCrunch that they had not seen similar cases involving the use of duress passwords. 安全专家也表示，他们此前从未见过以这种方式提起的指控。电子前沿基金会（EFF）的高级技术专家比尔·布丁顿（Bill Budington）和安全咨询公司 Granitt 的创始人、致力于保护高危人群的数字安全专家鲁纳·桑德维克（Runa Sandvik）告诉 TechCrunch，他们此前从未见过涉及使用胁迫密码的类似案件。
“I have not seen this before, though I’ve discussed the potential scenario with activists and journalists over the years,” said Sandvik. “I think this case serves as a reminder that authorities may argue you knowingly destroyed data, so it’s better to not have that data on you when you cross certain borders.” “我以前没见过这种情况，尽管多年来我曾与活动人士和记者讨论过这种潜在的情景，”桑德维克说。“我认为这个案件提醒人们，当局可能会辩称你是故意销毁数据，所以当你跨越某些边境时，最好不要随身携带这些数据。”
“With a little planning ahead of time, you can always download the data you need once you get to where you’re going,” said Sandvik. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has guides on how to protect your data and security at the U.S. border, and explains what rights you have. The Atlanta federal court overseeing the case is expected to rule on Tunick’s motion to suppress later this year. A Justice Department spokesperson did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment. “只要提前做一点计划，当你到达目的地后，总是可以下载你所需要的数据，”桑德维克说。电子前沿基金会提供了关于如何在美墨边境保护个人数据和安全的指南，并解释了你所拥有的权利。负责此案的亚特兰大联邦法院预计将于今年晚些时候对图尼克的证据排除动议作出裁决。司法部发言人未回应 TechCrunch 的置评请求。